The present invention relates to a door structure of an automotive vehicle which is applicable to a side door or a back door of the vehicle, and an assembly method of the same.
In general, since a sashless type of door can secure a properly-wide cross section of a roof side rail or a pillar upper portion, this type of door is advantageous in making a light-weight and high-rigidity vehicle body. However, a door window cannot be guided by a door sash, so that the sashless type of door is required to increase the door-window support rigidity of a device to elevate or lower the door window, compared to a sash type of door. Accordingly, it may be considered to increase the door-window support rigidity of the elevation/lowering device (a window regulator) that two guide rails for guiding elevation or lowering of the door window, which are one of components constituting the elevation/lowering device, are provided and also the components of the elevation/lowering device (window regulator), including the above-described guide rails and a module plate to which the guide rails are attached, are configured to be reinforced, for example. However, this may provide the elevation/lowering device with large size, heavy weight improperly.
Meanwhile, a door assembly in which the elevation/lowering device is attached to a door structure (300) comprising a reinforced member, such as a beltline reinforcement, from an inward side in a vehicle width direction has been proposed, which is disclosed in WO2007/111786 A1. This door assembly is a type of attaching the elevation/lowering device from the inside of the door structure (300). While this door assembly is applied to the sashless type of door, there is a problem that when the large-sized elevation/lowering device described above is assembled to the door structure (300), its work space is not provided properly and a weight of the elevation/lowering device increases, so that the assemblability of that may be deteriorated. Moreover, there is a concern accordingly that in a case in which there occurs a slight gap between the door structure (300) and the elevation/lowering device assembled to the door structure (300), the sealing performance is deteriorated, so that some water may come into an inside space of the door through a door-window insertion hole provided at an upper portion of the door. Consequently, there happen concerns that the water may stay inside the door and cause rusting, or further come into a cabin improperly.
Further, another type of door in which an elevation/lowering device of a window glass, as the door window, is inserted through a window-glass insertion groove provided at an upper portion of a door body, as the door-window insertion hole, and assembled to an inner panel from an outward side in the vehicle width direction has been proposed as well, which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. S61-146990. However, the above-described attaching of the elevation/lowering device to a specified attachment position inside the door body by inserting the elevation/lowering device through the window-glass insertion groove having a width which is not sufficiently wide, compared to a width of the elevation/lowering device, may require some more improvement in terms of the assemblability.